Babysitting
by lexiphillips
Summary: He'd thought babysitting Scott's neighbor's daughter would be an easy way to make some much-needed money, but so far Emma had refused to do anything Isaac told her to do, claiming he was "just a stupid boy." He knew he wouldn't survive the night without backup. Prompt requested by Tumblr user hipsterizeme-fandom.


_Emma, you little shit_, Isaac thought for the millionth time that night.

He'd thought babysitting Scott's neighbor's daughter would be an easy way to make some much-needed money, but so far Emma had refused to do anything Isaac told her to do, claiming he was "just a stupid boy." He knew he wouldn't survive the night without backup.

"Erica?" Isaac said after his friend picked up, using the same tone a teenager would before asking their parents for money.

"What do you want?" Erica replied, her voice suspicious.

"I need your help. Like, bad."

Erica started to become a little concerned. "What is it?"

"I'm babysitting for Scott's neighbor. It's not going well." Isaac glanced at Emma, who was glaring at him.

"Who are you talking to?" she questioned. Isaac ignored her.

Erica huffed out an annoyed sigh. "Seriously, Isaac? What makes you think I'd be of any help?"

"Well, she's a girl. So are you."

Isaac could practically feel Erica roll her eyes. "And?"

"She keeps calling me a 'stupid boy.' Maybe she'll listen to you." Isaac was getting desperate. He crossed his fingers and hoped to god she would help _somehow_.

There was a long pause as Erica considered. "Ugh," she finally groaned. "Fine, I'll do it. But you owe me, Lahey."

Isaac did a little fist-pump. "YES! Thank you. So much."

"Whatever. I'll be there soon." And with that, Erica hung up.

Isaac turned to Emma, smiling. She rolled her eyes. "You're _so_ weird."

"How old is this girl?" Erica whispered. When she arrived, Isaac gave her a bear hug of appreciation, to which she'd rolled her eyes. Now they were just standing in the doorway speaking quietly to each other.

"Eight, I think. Although she could be like that girl from _Orphan_. She's definitely evil." Isaac's whispers were apparently not quiet enough, though, because Emma then turned from the TV to give him a death glare.

Erica shivered. "And I thought werewolves were the scariest thing out there." Taking a deep breath, she began to walk over to the girl.

"Who are _you_?" Emma asked as Erica sunk down next to her on the soft couch, her face a mixture of curiosity and distrust.

Erica gave the girl her best attempt at a smile. "My name's Erica. I'm Isaac's friend."

The little girl's green eyes narrowed. "Why are you friends with _him_? He's just a _stupid boy._"

"Well, you're not wrong there," Erica responded, chuckling a little.

"Hey! I'm still here!" Isaac said from behind them, his tone indignant.

"Shh, Isaac. We're having girl time," Erica said, waving a hand of dismissal before giving him a look that said _this might work_.

Isaac ran a hand through his curls. "I'll... make us some sandwiches?"

"Good." Erica watched him leave, then turned to the large TV. "What are we watching?"

"_A.N.T. Farm_," Emma responded, her eyes never leaving the screen.

"Ant Farm? Like, with bugs?"

"No, A-N-T Farm. Like, with people," Emma spelled it out, sounding slightly annoyed and more than slightly sarcastic.

Erica raised her eyebrows. "Oh. Okay. What's it about?"

"It's about kids who get to go to high school because they have a bunch of talent."

_Sounds boring, _Erica thought. "Sounds... cool. What does A.N.T. stand for?"

"It stands for Advanced Natural Talent. If you have talent, you get to go to high school. Are you going to stop asking me questions now, so I can watch?" Emma glared at her, finally looking away from the TV.

Erica raised her hands in surrender. _Isaac owes me big-time. _

Isaac returned with the sandwiches, which were set on the wooden coffee table in front of the couch, and sat down next to Erica. Erica scooted closer to him, longing to be further from the demon-child and closer to someone familiar.

As the show went to commercial, Erica noticed Emma staring at her. "Your hair is pretty," Emma said after a moment.

Erica twirled her finger through a blonde lock. "Thank you, so is yours," she smiled, attempting again to connect with the girl.

Emma shook her head. "No it's not! It's brown, like poop, and it just hangs there. Yours is bouncy and sunshine-y."

"I think brown is pretty, and you just need to learn how to style it." Erica leaned forward a little, afraid to get too close.

Emma widened her eyes and leaned closer to the older girl. "Will you help me?"

"Help you do your hair?" Erica questioned, taken aback.

Emma suddenly grinned, excited. "Yes! You can teach me how to braid it and stuff! My bathroom's this way," she exclaimed, hopping up and running out of the room.

Erica shared a look of surprise and confusion with her friend before standing up and following the younger girl.

"I'll be here," Isaac called after them, before adding quietly so that only Erica could hear, "Don't get killed."

Erica glanced back, laughing quietly.

After about an hour of teaching Emma how to make several different braids, Erica found herself some sort of idol to the small girl. They sat on the couch as Emma talked and talked and _talked_ about everything from her favorite Disney Channel shows to her thoughts on each member of One Direction. Erica nodded and smiled, occasionally adding in some comments, attempting to sound interested.

Isaac sat, amused. He was just happy the younger girl was doing what she was told, finally.

After about half an hour of this, Isaac realized what time it was. "It's nine-thirty," he informed the both of them.

Emma glared at him, annoyed that her speech about why _she_ should be dating Harry Styles (despite the age difference) was interrupted. "So?"

"You should go to bed, Emma. I don't want your mom to get upset with us," Erica told her.

Emma just looked at her for a moment. "Okay, fine," she sighed. Erica followed her to her room to say goodnight.

She returned a few minutes later. "Thank _god_ it's over."

Isaac grinned at her. "What? You looked like you were having so much fun!" He got a smack in the arm for that.

Erica plopped onto the couch next to him. "I want half of whatever her mom pays you."

"Deal," he agreed, putting an arm around her. "And thank you."

"Anytime, Lahey."


End file.
